


Stitched Up

by In_Pieces



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Edgy Dad Helps in His Own Way, Father-Daughter Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Violence, Sombra Doesn’t Know How to Deal with Her Emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Pieces/pseuds/In_Pieces
Summary: Sombra accidentally rips apart the only remnant of her childhood and learns that Reaper knows how to sew.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Sombra | Olivia Colomar
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	Stitched Up

This was her fault.

This was all her fucking fault.

Sombra knew Arturito was old and frail. He’d been with her for more than two decades, and time had taken its toll on him. The color of his fur was muted after so many washes, his eyes had turned matte, and one of his ears clung to his head only by a white thread. That's why she'd always treated him with care, dreading to damage him even further.

But, now, she held his head in one of her hands as his body laid limp on the ground, a string of white filling poking out of his neck. One of his limbs had gotten stuck on a loose screw by the bed frame, and one little pull was all it took for him to come apart before her eyes.

Sombra knew she shouldn’t be crying over a fucking teddy bear, but the tears kept streaming down her face no matter how hard she tried to wipe them away, succeeding only in leaving red, angry marks on her cheeks.

She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady herself and tell her body she'd had enough. But Arturito reminded her of her mother’s laugh. Of her father’s silly jokes. Of the time they had taken her to the local fair and she’d gone home with the teddy bear in one hand and some cotton candy in the other. He was a reminder of better times. Of her parents. Of everything she once had.

And it was gone. It was all fucking gone because seeing Arturito torn apart reminded her of her parents’ bodies being crushed to death after a flurry of bullets had destroyed the walls of their home. Of the blood that had stained her clothes as she shakily walked down the paved streets to get help. Of all the hushed whispers at the hospital because she had no one left in the world. No one but the teddy bear that they couldn't pry out of her hands. 

The memories she’d tried so hard to repress kept crawling back to the surface. Sombra didn’t know how to stop them, so they kept playing like a broken record, each loop more painful than the last. 

A knock at the door made her head snap in its direction, a headache forming in the back of her skull. The purple light shining under the door was a dead giveaway that she was there but, maybe, they would leave if she didn’t make a sound, even if she could barely hold herself together as she tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. 

“Open the door.”

“I’m busy.”

“Sombra.”

“Just leave me alone!” Her voice cracked, letting all the emotions spill out for a split second, heart stammering painfully in her chest. 

She hoped Gabe didn’t hear it, but the black mist that slipped under the door told her a different story. Sombra glared at him, hands shaking as she held Arturito’s head a little too tight. She had never let anyone see her like this, broken down and turned into a sobbing mess. It wasn’t who she was supposed to be. How she wanted the world to see her.

Gabe looked down at her pathetic form sitting on the floor, holding Arturito’s remnants as if all her tears could magically stitch him back together. Then, he unlocked the door and left. 

And maybe that made her cry a little harder. Her chest felt tighter, her breaths a bit more shallowed as the anger brought a fresh stream of tears that soaked through Arturito’s fabric until the door was opened again.

“Give me the bear.”

“No.”

Gabe kneeled down, his presence almost suffocating as he took off his gloves, leaving them on the floor with a small thud. His hands were ghostly white and scarred, black smoke coming out of his fingers as he reached for Arturito’s body, examining the damage. Only then Sombra noticed he’d brought a sewing kit with him, and was comparing the bear’s color with a couple of brown threads to find a matching shade. Gabe held out his hand and, this time, she placed Arturito’s head on his open palm.

Sombra had never seen Gabe being so careful. His movements were slow, calculated, each little stitch as perfect as it could be even if she would never see it again. She had a feeling Gabe wanted her to watch, so she did, silently observing the brown thread go into Arturito’s body and then into his head until her tears dried off and she felt she could finally breathe again. He stitched his ear, too. Patched up the little hole on his leg where the screw had ripped the fabric. And then, offered her the bear that looked better than ever.

She didn’t take it. 

Instead, she pulled him into a tight hug. Sombra didn’t care that his armor was digging into her torso. Didn’t care that she did it so suddenly she almost managed to make them both bang their heads against the wall. Didn’t care about how stiff Gabe’s body was because he wasn’t used to anyone touching him, let alone hugging him. But he let her do it all the same, even if he didn’t hug her back.

“ _Gracias_.” 

“ _De nada_.”

Sombra pulled away and took Arturito, his fur feeling comfortably coarse under her fingertips. “Your accent sucks, by the way.” 

So what if she was deflecting things now? She wanted to pretend this never happened. Bring them back to that same place they used to be before Gabe burst through the door and saw her on the floor.

A part of her knew things would be different from now on, and maybe one day she’d tell Gabe the story behind Arturito because he cared about her more than what he let on and she wasn’t as tough as she made it seem to be. But today wasn’t that day, and if being a little shit would take the edge off it all, so be it.

“So does yours.”

Sombra snorted as Gabe picked up his stuff before he walked away, shutting the door behind him. She placed the renewed Arturito on top of one of her pillows, a small smile making its way to her lips.

She could remember her parents’ joyful laughs again, feel the taste of cotton candy coating her tongue. But that wasn’t all. She now pictured Gabe sitting on the floor, holding a needle and thread, the image playing right after her childhood memories.

And he’d rightfully earned that place in her heart. 


End file.
